Exports¶

Everything CalcpadCE writes out of a document is described here: reports as PDF, HTML or Word, the plot images a document produces, the files #write and #append write, and the two portable formats.

Every export runs through the same calculation engine as the preview, so the output matches what you see on screen. Exported files don't carry the line numbers or error boxes the on-screen views use for navigation.

Export variants¶

An export captures one of the four renderings. A plain "export to PDF" gives you the report.

Variant	Contents	Formats
Report (default)	`#pre` hidden, `#post` shown, entered `#UI` values applied	PDF, HTML, Word
Preview	`#pre` and `#post` both shown, using the document's default `#UI` values. Gives the values entered into the input form when Apply `#UI` Values in Preview is on	PDF, HTML, Word
Input form	Form view for inserting `#UI` input values, `#post` hidden, UI overrides applied instead of the document's defaults	PDF, HTML
Unwrapped	The CalcpadCE file with macros and `#include`s expanded	PDF, HTML

See UI Mode for #pre/#post and the input form, and Settings for Apply #UI Values in Preview.

A compiled .cpdz worksheet exports the same way a .cpd does.

PDF export¶

PDF output is print-ready and matches the on-screen preview, with configurable page size, margins, and header/footer content.

Options come from two places, and the document takes priority:

Your defaults live in the PDF Export section of the Settings tab. They apply to every document you export.
A document can override any of them for itself with a pdf metadata comment, written for you by the Properties tab. This is how a report that has to print A4 landscape is able to print that way on every machine.

The two are merged key by key: a document that sets only marginTop keeps your usual paper size and title.

Browser requirement¶

PDF export renders the report using a Chromium-based browser (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Chromium). The app looks for one already installed on your system and uses it if it finds one.

If it can't find one — or the one it finds won't launch — the desktop app and the VS Code extension offers to download a compatible browser. You can either install a browser yourself (recommended if disk space is a concern) or accept a one-time download of a private headless Chromium (~180 MB) that CalcpadCE uses only for exports. Once downloaded it is reused, so you are asked only once. Declining just cancels that export.

On Linux, if no browser is found, the app shows you the exact package to install for your distribution:

Distribution	Install command
Arch / CachyOS / Manjaro / EndeavourOS / Garuda	`sudo pacman -S chromium`
Debian / Ubuntu / Mint	`sudo apt install chromium`
Fedora / RHEL / Rocky / Alma	`sudo dnf install chromium`
openSUSE	`sudo zypper install chromium`
Alpine	`sudo apk add chromium`
macOS	`brew install --cask google-chrome`
Windows	Install Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome

Page setup¶

Paper size — Letter, Legal, Tabloid, Ledger, or A0–A6.
Orientation — portrait or landscape.
Margins — set each edge independently. A unit is required: 2cm, 1.5cm, 0.5in, 12mm.
Header and footer — The title, the timestamp, and the page number can each be set or hidden.

Every option, with its accepted values, is listed under Settings → PDF Export.

Excluding sections from the PDF¶

Wrap sections you want visible on screen but omitted from the report PDF in #pre … #end pre:

#pre
'These lines are visible in the preview but excluded from the report PDF.
x = 5
y = x + 1
#end pre
'This prints!'

This is part of CalcpadCE's visibility directive system.

Plots¶

The Plots section of the Export tab lists every plot the document emits, each with a thumbnail, filename, and size:

Button	Result
Refresh	Re-runs the document and re-lists plots. Triggered automatically by a manual Run Preview.
Save… (per plot)	Writes that plot to disk in its native format (PNG or SVG, depending on the Vector Graphics setting).
Download all (ZIP)	Bundles every plot in one archive.

Write / append files¶

The Write / Append section controls the document's own file output:

Control	Result
Write files	When `#write`/`#append` run: Preview and Report, Report Only (default), or Manual.
Write to Disk	Runs the document as a report and writes its `#write`/`#append` files, whatever the setting above says. Being a report, it writes the values entered into the input form.

The input form and unwrapped never write, and which #UI values (default or overrides) reach the file depends on the preview mode and settings.

Portable exports¶

Beyond saving a document as .cpd, CalcpadCE can produce two self-contained outputs meant to be handed to someone else: a compiled worksheet, which runs anywhere but keeps its source locked, and a portable package, which stays readable and editable.

Save As Compiled Worksheet¶

Compiling produces a .cpdz from the document you are working on. It is a separate output rather than a rename: the file you have open keeps its own name and stays editable, so you can keep working on the .cpd and re-compile whenever you need a new copy to hand out.

A compiled worksheet is fully portable: everything the document depends on (#include, #read, and images) is written into it, so it runs with nothing beside it.

read data and images are capped at 20 MB in total (10 MB each), since it is all bundled in the .cpdz (which takes more system resources than reading from a file).¶

The export will fail with a warning if this limit is exceeded.

If a referenced file cannot be read, i.e. from a missing .csv or #include, the export is stopped and an error is given.

#write and #append will write next to the compiled file when it runs instead of the original write path. Duplicate filenames get -1, -2 appended to the filename to keep them separate.

Opening a compiled worksheet gives you the input form with the CalcpadCE file locked. Values you enter can still be saved back into it: in the desktop app it saves like any other file, and in VS Code a compiled worksheet opens in its own editor where Save writes the entered values back.

If the recipient has to read or edit the calculation rather than just fill it in, export a portable package instead.

Export Portable Package¶

A portable package is the middle ground between a .cpd, which may rely on environment-specific paths, and a .cpdz, which runs anywhere but cannot be read or edited. It is a .zip holding the document as text beside a folder of everything it references, with each path rewritten to reach it there:

calc.zip
    calc.cpd
    calc.cpd.refs/
        logo.png
        library.cpd
        loads.csv

Unzip it anywhere and open the .cpd, and it renders as it did in its original environment. This is very useful for archiving or backing up calculations that depend on library files that may change in the future. - An #included file is packed with its own references, which are rewritten as well. - Images given as a web address or as inline data are left alone: they already resolve anywhere. - #write and #append will write next to the .cpd file when it runs instead of the original write path. - Duplicate filenames get -1, -2 appended to the filename to keep them separate. - A {project}, {library} or {user} reference (see Path root tokens) is resolved against your own declared roots and packed like any other reference.